It’s time — now more than ever — to let go and to give YOURSELF and others a clean slate.

Give yourself a blank canvas to try again.

Give yourself a first time again.

How many times have you begun a new, healthier eating lifestyle with a pizza cloud hanging over your head of what you ate yesterday or last week? You can never truly try anything new if you’re cloaked in yesterday’s thoughts and actions.

Don’t let anything define you except this moment.

How are you acting, feeling, and moving this moment? You can give yourself a pure white canvas each day in your heart and mind. Feeling free from the shame of shoulds or coulds is like unpinning your wings.

Fly!

Feel fresh and new each day to try. Don’t sabotage your success today with the failures of yesterday. Embrace yourself, others, and TODAY with an open heart and a blank canvas.

We all deserve to be NEW . . . whether it is a diet, or a relationship, or simply your relationship with yourself.

Create something beautiful each day when you work, when you play, or simply when you love with a clean heart. You have the power to have F.U.N each day and feel alive and fresh, loving, and sparkling new . . . and if you don’t do it for others, then do it for you.

We clap and awe at celebrities that receive awards yearly. We are impressed, inspired, and moved by them. We revere whom they are and how far they have come. We applaud their journey, but what if — we did that for ourselves, for our family, and for our friends? How amazing would it feel to stand with humble honor and joyous pride at how far we have come and whom we are right now! So I say adorn your heart with a golden acceptance and an unwavering strength to stand in your own skin this moment . . . and say . . . I WIN! I am going to jump around and dance and laugh and give a thousand-watt-lit smile TODAY, because I deserve to feel phenomenal right this second! This world does not have to dictate who wins to you, who succeeds, and how they succeeded. You better give YOURSELF an AWARD. You are amazing! Your kindness can do great things! Your tiny moments of shared love can change the path of someone’s life for the better. Never doubt your worth or significance, because your simple laughter lights someone’s world — your mother’s world, your friend’s, and even the sweet lady at the grocery store. You simply have no idea the impact that your dear heart has. So the next time you watch an award show or applaud a celebrity, don’t forget . . . yourself. Oh! and I must say congrats on your award today!

Forget about your audience. You have none, but one . . . YOU. If you want to try something new, don’t think, “what will so and so think?” You are your only audience. I promise you, in the whole scheme of things as loving as people can be —they don’t care. People don’t care what you do, or how you do it. They are not judging you, they are judging themselves. People are too busy deciding if they are doing their own thing right. Nobody can help it, it is a natural tendency to be selfish. People are designed to take care of themselves, survival of the fittest, dog eat dog, maybe not that intense . . . but, it’s true. They love you, but they don’t care. It’s up to you to care, to try, to “Frankly, my dear . . .give a damn!” You are on the face of this earth for just a bit of time. Live like you don’t have an audience if you fail, or succeed. It’s up to you to dream, to try, to fail, and to keep going until you have everything that you dream — or at least enjoy the journey of working for it. The audience is empty, you are center stage, and the lights are warm and softly spotted on you . . . you can sit there and wait, or dance for YOU!

I was recently contemplating what makes a baby so beautiful. Yes, there are so many ways to answer this question, but the most obvious to me is how they are innocent and gentle. What is the definition of gentle? Well, gentle is defined as “considerate or kindly in disposition, amiable, not harsh or severe, soothing, mild and soft.” A baby is so gentle that his or her very presence alters the state of almost every person he or she encounters. People stop and soften their countenance in awe of the beauty of such gentle innocence. Their faces soften in expression, and a warmth of reverence is apparent. I believe our beauty as humans lives in gentle innocence. We find that the truest love is beautiful, and the truest loves are not of lust or harshness; they are innocent, true and gentle. Where you long to treat the other with a tenderness that makes the other feel safe,secure and serene. Those are the awe inspiring loves — where kindness holds you softly, and you are at peace with a simple moment. That is true gentility. Love is innocent and gentle. Alas, you are met with beauty when in a state of love. It cannot be denied. You are overflowing with beauty for the world to feel and see. You smile more, you greet others with a kinder “hello,” and you are peacefully present. Therefore, in your purity of heart and soul you are innocent and gentle. You are living . . . beauty.

I am learning more than ever the importance of enjoying it — enjoying anything and everything! I have come across people that enjoy nothing, people that enjoy some things, and that magical unicorn of a person that enjoys . . . everything! I dare say, that, my friend . . . is my goal. I don’t want to fumble into each day and randomly or mechanically do things. I want to live my life fully and to feel things with a fantastic joy! When we were children we found joy and fun at every moment with anything. Each moment was another chance to play. It is so important to find the humor in things, and in the humor you find the joy! The sands of time fall like a waterfall of opportunity begging you to enjoy each second. The clock is tick- tocking “thank you,” and your soul is waiting to be free with a smile — with a laugh. So whatever you do,try — just try — to enjoy it. If you’re cleaning the house, turn on your favorite music and have a few dance breaks. If you’re cooking dinner, turn on some Frank Sinatra, fill up a wine glass with your drink of choice, oh! and light a candle. Life is but a few deep breaths. Why not enjoy it?

Who would you write that thank you letter to? What would you say in it, and why would you choose that one special person? Nowadays it’s a big deal to get a real phone call, much less a letter. To think once upon a time people only communicated through letters. Now if you get a long text you’re impressed. I’m still so curious whom you would choose to say thank you from the bottom of your heart to the tip of an ink pen. People come and go in your life. Alas, some people leave a mark, a soft impression on your soul, a kiss of kindness on your thoughts forever . . . who — who would you right that letter to?

There is no better time to knock your own socks off! Impress yourself. Do something new. Try something outside of the box. Be bold and brave, but mostly have F.U.N. When you’re older than dirt and rocking in a rocking chair, when you’re looking back on your life, what will make you smile? What can you do that will make you feel alive and inspired? Give yourself credit. Don’t say no before you say yes! You will never be more capable or ready than right . . . now. I’m so excited for you! I believe in you! Now follow your dreams. Lead with love, and live without fear. No one will judge you, because they are too busy judging themselves. Be the light you need now. Go BUCK WILD! Do what you’ve been thinking about for ages . . . right . . . now.